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New Student Orientation Day

This year, 136 new students will be joining us at the Prep School!  Creating a welcoming culture of inclusion and belonging is important to us and we intentionally design a thoughtful transition for new students joining our community. As a part of that plan, new students (excluding SKs) will participate in New Student Orientation Day on Tuesday, Sept 5. This is a half day of school which allows a soft entry to their new school. On this day, new students will meet their Form Adviser and fellow new students, see their classroom, tour the school, and participate in a variety of team-building activities. 

In addition, children in Year 6 and 7 will meet student leaders who are eager to share their UCC insights and experience. These student leaders will continue their mentorship of new classmates throughout the upcoming weeks as they learn to navigate the Prep and establish new friendships.

In Primary classrooms, Form Advisers are also thoughtful and intentional about ensuring the new students have mentors and guides throughout their first few days and weeks. We are confident that our orientation will support students with their transition to our school community. 

For the New Student Orientation Day, please have students arrive in uniform (Regular Dress  —  see page 25 in the Family Handbook for description) between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Dismissal on this day is 11:30 a.m. for new students in Years 1-6, and 11:45 a.m. for new students in Year 7.  

Helpful reminders for September

New Student Orientation Day | Tuesday, Sept. 5

Only NEW Prep students (excluding SKs) will participate in the orientation. 

• Please arrive between 8:30 and 9 a.m.

• Students should arrive in uniform (Regular Dress  —  see page 25 in the Family Handbook for description)

• Dismissal on this day is 11:30 a.m. for new students in Years 1–6

• Dismissal on this day is 11:45 a.m. for new students in Year 7

First full day of classes for all students in Year 1 to Year 7 | Wednesday, Sept. 6

• Please arrive between 8 and 8:30 a.m.

• SK students: Family interviews will be conducted on Wednesday, Sept. 6 and Thursday, Sept. 7 with a half day of school for SK students on Friday, Sept. 8. The Admissions office will be reaching out to schedule family interviews.

Dismissal times

• The Prep Dismissal times for the 2023–24 school year are:

  • SK–Year 2: 3:10 p.m.

  • Year 3–4: 3:25 p.m.

  • Year 5: 3:40 p.m.

  • Year 6–7: 3:50 p.m.

Wednesday late starts

• Beginning Sept. 13, classes at the Prep will start at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, with student drop-off beginning at 9:15 a.m. We will offer a supervised Before School Program on Wednesdays (with drop-off from 8 to 8:30 a.m.) at no additional cost. 

Uniform

• The Prep School Dress Code is in the Family Handbook. There have been some adjustments to the Prep uniform to simplify the requirements for families, introduce a weekly spirit wear dress day and provide more footwear options.  

• Illustrations of Prep uniform items are available at: SK–Year 4 and Years 5–7

• Orders can be made through our retail partner, DGN Kilters. Please follow the ordering instructions available here. 

Textbook Ordering

• Year 6 and 7 families should follow these instructions to order textbooks

Lunch

• The Prep lunch information can be found in the Hot Lunch article below

Class lists

• Families will receive notification of their child’s class by email on Wednesday, Aug. 30

REGISTER | Hot Lunch Program

SK–Year 3 (lunch begins at 11:40 a.m.)

• SK students eat lunch in their classroom 

• Year 1–3 students will eat in Weston Hall  

• Parents may elect to send a lunch from home or sign up for the hot lunch program 

• Home lunches must be nut/peanut free

• There is an optional milk program for students who bring their own lunch  

• There is a snack program, which is available to SK students

Year 4–5 (lunch begins at 11:40 a.m.)

• Students will eat in the Prep dining hall 

• Parents may elect to send a lunch from home or sign up for the hot lunch program

• Home lunches must be nut/peanut free

• There is an optional milk program for students who bring their own lunch 

Year 6–7 (lunch begins at 12:10 p.m.) 

• Students will eat in the Prep dining hall or Weston Hall

• Parents may elect to send a lunch from home or sign up for the hot lunch program

• Home lunches must be nut/peanut free 

• There is an optional milk program for students who bring their own lunch

Lunch Options: In cooperation with Aramark, we offer students the following options at lunch:

1. Hot lunch program (includes beverage)

• The menu, which operates on a three-week cycle, offers soup, one main entrée, one vegetarian entrée, a sandwich/salad bar and dessert every day. Milk and water (and chocolate milk as an occasional treat) are available. Students are permitted to line up for seconds.

2. Milk program (for those who bring their lunch from home)

• Students may bring their lunch and enroll in the milk program, which offers milk and chocolate milk on occasion.

3. Lunch from home

• Parents may opt to send lunch with their child and microwave ovens are available for student use. Students are expected to take home uneaten food in order to help parents gauge what is being eaten.

Expectations

Prior to registering for the hot lunch program, we ask families to review a sample menu and consider whether a lunch brought from home or the hot lunch program best meets their child’s needs. Students will be encouraged to make sound nutritional choices and will be expected to finish with little or no food waste. They are always welcome to try an item and return for more. As students try different menu items over the course of the first menu cycle, there may be some waste. After this time, students will be expected to make good decisions about what and how much they take.

To ensure the safety of students, parents are expected to ensure that any food items sent from home do not contain traces of any kind of nut or shellfish. Please discuss the importance of this strict requirement with your child. Your co-operation is essential and appreciated.

PLEASE NOTE:

If you subscribe to one of the programs, the charges will be added to your child’s account on a term-by-term basis. Once registered at the beginning of the year students remain registered unless the parents advise the Prep Office by email.

There will be no credit for days remaining in a term if a parent withdraws from the program during the term, or days missed because of any absence.

Parents who register for the hot lunch program do not need to sign up for the milk program. Bag lunches will be prepared for field trips as required for hot lunch registrants.

Note that students cannot sign up part-way through a term. If you decide to register for the hot lunch program, you must sign up via your child's student profile page. 

Here is the link to instructions on how to access your child’s student profile page.

REGISTER | Before School Program

Beginning Sept. 13, classes at the Prep will have a start time of 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, with student drop-off at 9:15 a.m. We will offer a supervised before-school program on Wednesday mornings (with student drop-off from 8 to 8:30 a.m.) for families who may need earlier drop-off. This program will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 13 and be offered at no additional cost. It will be wellbeing focused and include activities such as mindfulness, physical games and homework club. The programming will be structured, age-appropriate and feel like an extension of the school day. 

Families may register for the Before School program online on their child's profile page. Here is the link to instructions on how to access your child's profile page.

REGISTER | VEX IQ Robotics 

We're pleased to announce that VEX IQ will begin this fall for Year 6 and 7 students.  VEX IQ is a competitive robotics program that gives students the opportunity to design and build robots that will participate in the newest VEX IQ game, Full Volume. 

The nature of the program will require a significant commitment from participating students. The group will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Upper School. Students wishing to participate in the competitive circuit (which we encourage but do not require) can also expect 3 or 4 weekend competitions throughout southern Ontario during the school year. There is an expectation that students will regularly attend build days — and while occasional absences are unavoidable attendance should be considered mandatory throughout the core build period of the season (September to March).  

We can support up to 10 teams — depending on the interest level we may need to institute an application process. There is no cost to participate on the team, but there may be costs associated with competitions and team clothing throughout the year.

Please indicate your intent to participate in VEX IQ robotics by completing this form.